Jieyin finished chanting and extended his hand, pointing forward. A golden radiant path unfurled and stretched directly to Li Jing’s feet, welcoming him personally onto the mountain. This gesture clearly conveyed his stance and gave Li Jing the utmost respect and honor.
With palms pressed together, Li Jing stepped forward and ascended Lingshan step by step. His attire gradually transford into the style befitting a Buddha, his hairstyle changed into the distinct fashion of the Western Sect, and his expression beca one of profound compassion.
"Amitabha Buddha, greetings to the World Venerable Tuo Ta Treasure Light Tathagata!"
On top of Lingshan, radiant Buddha light shone brilliantly. Everyone clasped their hands in unison and chanted respectfully.
Li Jing had beco a Buddha, the Tuo Ta Treasure Light Tathagata.
...
After Jieyin and Zhunti left behind nurous Magical Treasures of the Buddhist Sect, they fully handed over power to Li Jing.
Nezha and his companions did not leave. With Li Jing freshly ascending to power, there were many issues to address, and at this ti, he needed the support of his family.
Li Jing’s capabilities were not lacking; it was rely his cultivation that was relatively weak.
But that was of little concern—behind him stood three Saints. In the entire Primordial realm, few would dare act against him.
The second task was to establish his own trusted team; without one, it would be impossible to function effectively.
This was where Nezha’s efforts beca crucial. After all, Nezha’s network was indeed extensive.
First to be drawn in were the Four Great Bodhisattvas: Ksitigarbha, Guanyin, Manjusri, and Puxian.
Ksitigarbha resided in the underworld and had no direct conflict of interest with Li Jing, the Buddha of the current world. Combined with a personal connection to Nezha, they were sowhat friends.
Guanyin was closely tied to Nezha, and as a newcor, cooperation with Li Jing was the optimal choice. Manjusri and Puxian remained unchanged, always aligning themselves with Guanyin.
Most of the Jie Sect’s Immortals had already joined the Past Buddha Duobao’s teachings, while the original disciples of Lingshan had gathered under the Future Buddha Maitreya.
The only one with direct conflict of interest with Li Jing was this Future Buddha Maitreya. Well, the term "Future Buddha" speaks for itself—anyone who understood would understand.
The forr disciples of the Western Sect under Maitreya were dissatisfied with Li Jing’s rise to leadership. In response, Li Jing simply sent Maitreya off to Mount Suru, where Maitreya established his own independent sect.
Then there was the Neutral Faction, which rely followed benefits wherever they could be found. These individuals were easy to manage—opportunists without any real power.
As for Lu Ya, the Great Sun Tathagata, he also stood as an independent force, but because of his relationship with Nezha, the connection remained amicable.
Thus ford the current frawork of Buddhism.
Inside the main hall of Lingshan, beside the Eight Treasures rit Pool.
Li Jing, clad in monk’s robes, sat upon the Twelve-Grade rit Golden Lotus, holding the Pagoda in his hand—a picture of solemn and sacred dignity.
Below him stood Lady Yin and Nezha’s three brothers.
Lady Yin and Nezha once considered assigning their mother to the Heavenly Court, but with Li Jing now a Buddha, she instead received a carefree position as a Bodhisattva in Lingshan.
Jinzha and Mu Zha followed their master into Buddhism. One beca a protector of the front division, while the other assud the role of Hui’an Walker—neither positions were of significant rank.
Li Jing felt there was no need for overly lofty titles. As the leader of Buddhism and their father, who would dare bully them? Being close to him sufficed, and resources would never be scarce.
As for Nezha, there was even less cause for concern.
Li Jing extended his palm, revealing the other prize of this great competition—Treasure Dividing Rock.
First, he handed the Treasure Dividing Rock to Jinzha, who studied it for a long ti but shook his head.
Then it was passed to Mu Zha; after so contemplation, he too shook his head.
In the end, Li Jing did not directly hand the Treasure Dividing Rock to Nezha. Instead, he closed his eyes montarily.
Scratching his head, Nezha understood that this was Li Jing consulting with the Saints. After all, although Li Jing had won this treasure, it belonged to Buddhism and couldn’t simply be handed to him without due process.
At this mont, Nuwa, observing from afar, also weighed in. Given the opportunity to seize such a prized artifact, there was no reason to relinquish it. She actively contacted Zhunti.
The two negotiated and finally reached an agreent: Nezha would need to hold an official position in Lingshan to receive the treasure.
Without hesitation, Nuwa agreed. It was rely a title. Nezha had countless affiliations anyway—she didn’t care.
With his teacher’s approval, Nezha nodded. Holding a title to obtain the Dao Ancestor’s treasure? Other Immortals wouldn’t even dream of such fortune!
Ultimately, Nezha secured a Buddha position within the Western Sect. Zhunti, taking a personal interest, bestowed upon him a Buddha’s na: "Great Strength."
"You brat, you’re always swinging that broken axe of yours around so recklessly. Fine, your na shall be ’Great Strength!’"
Nezha: "..."
Thus, Nezha’s Buddha title was formalized as the Great Strength Venerable King Buddha. He thought to himself—it wasn’t that bad, was it?
He accepted the Treasure Dividing Rock and studied it for days, but to no avail. If it weren’t personally given to him by Li Jing, he would have suspected it was just a random piece of broken Primordial rock.
Perhaps he lacked the cultivation to comprehend it?
Later, he placed it inside Taihuangtian and served as a driver, transporting his elder sisters from the tour group back ho.
Daji and Deng Chanyu never imagined that after visiting Lingshan, they would return with two fewer companions.
Long Ji and the others returned to the Heavenly Court, while Deng Chanyu and Daji headed back to the Great Tang.
The first thing the two did upon arriving in the Great Tang was to announce that Li Jing had beco a Buddha. As one of the Great Tang’s founders, Li Jing commanded extraordinary respect—trendous respect.
To those cultivating Immortals, the news of Li Jing becoming a Buddha was understandable. For ordinary citizens, however, this was simply a glorified way of saying Li Jing had passed away and been deified.
Based on mortal years, Li Jing was indeed quite old.
The impact of his ascension to Buddha status was significant: the Great Tang now had a new belief system—Buddhism.
Buddhist culture began flourishing in the Great Tang, becoming a second major spiritual force.
The rise of Buddhism also marked the fragntation of the Mystic Sect. Long prepared for this mont, the Three Pure Ones collectively established the Dao Sect as an offshoot of the Mystic Sect.
Nuwa, always indifferent and idle, was sowhat dumbfounded. "What, none of you invited to join?"
"Fine, fine." With that thought, she lazily rolled over in disinterest.
She wasn’t particularly invested in matters of faith anyway.
The Mystic Sect officially split into two.
The newly established capital of the Great Tang, Chang’an, beca the hub for the flourishing of both Buddha and Dao doctrines.
...
Nezha, having safely delivered everyone, didn’t return to the Heavenly Court but instead returned to Lingshan. Having benefited from it, he couldn’t simply walk away without contributing—that wasn’t in his character.
With Li Jing assuming his position, what did a new official need most? Achievents.
The main purpose of the Buddhist Sect was to suppress the Demon Dao.
As it happened, Hao Tian had just issued a mission to find the entrance to the Demon World.
Even without Nezha actively inserting himself, dealing with the Demon Dao was already an imperative task for him.
Now, as the Great Strength Venerable King Buddha, he planned to find the entrance to the Demon Realm under the Buddhist banner—and earn a significant accomplishnt for Hao Tian in the process!
Any discovery made by soone from Lingshan would count as a credit to Li Jing’s record.
Upon returning to Lingshan, Nezha began researching records on Fantian.
There were references, but very scarce.
Fantian was an Asura purified by Jieyin from the Blood Sea. Unlike other Asuras, he seed to possess an innate Buddha Nature—or perhaps one could argue innate Demon Nature.
Under Zhunti’s guidance, he relinquished his Asura cultivation entirely and started anew, cultivating the Great Dao. Interestingly, the Dao he chose was called the Dream Dao.
Reading through this information, Nezha felt the Dream Dao bore so resemblance to his own False Dao.
As for when and how Fantian succumbed to the demonic path, there wasn’t a single trace of evidence.
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